With Acts 271, 117 and 183, state lawmakers recently amended several bills involving state prison inmates' health, booking fines and applications for clemency for individuals sentenced to life without parole.

Act 271 is an act to minimize the spread of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) carried by inmates in the Arkansas Department of Correction (ADC) by testing inmates before they are released.

The current law states inmates released from ADC will be supplied with clothing and a travel subsidy prescribed by the Board of Corrections. Inmates will also be provided transportation for the inmate to the closest commercial transportation pick-up point.

The amended portion of the law states before an inmate is released from any unit the department will test the individual for HIV and provide counseling regarding treatment options for inmates who test positive for the virus.

In an Associated Press article, Rep. Fred Allen of North Little Rock, sponsor of the bill, said the tests would cost the state $34,000 annually and would not be a condition of parole. Previously, the state tested inmates when they entered ADC, but not upon release, he said.

Fee for the trouble

Act 117 is an act to impose a booking and administration fee to support county jails and regional detention facilities.

The law states any person who goes to jail for any offense and is convicted will pay for the expense of transporting them to jail and for his or her support from the first day of incarceration for the entire time he or she remains there.

The law was amended to state a person convicted of a felony or Class A misdemeanor will have to pay a fee of $20 after they are convicted and will be included in the judgment of the court. Even if the individual's sentence is suspended or the person is put on probation, the fee will be assessed.

The fees collected will be deposited into a special fund within the county to be used for maintenance, operation and capital expenditures of a county jail or regional detention center.

Clemency law changes

Act 183 establishes a waiting period of six years after the denial date of a executive clemency request for individuals sentenced to life without parole before filing a new application for clemency.

The amended law states, if a person sentenced to life without parole submits an application for clemency and is denied by the governor, the person filing will not be eligible to file a new application related to the same offense for six years from the denial date.

If the application is denied and the individual requesting clemency has been identified as having a physical or mental health problem, the inmate may reapply immediately.

The exception is if the parole board or the governor waive the waiting period for filing the application under the following conditions; if it has been 12 months after the date of filing, if the parole board determines the person whose application was denied has established new evidence relating to the person's guilt or if the person's physical or mental health has substantially deteriorated.

According to an Arkansas New Bureau article, Rep. Mike Patterson of Piggott, sponsor of the bill, said he introduced the measure at the request of a woman who had three loved ones murdered in 1980. The woman told Patterson every four years the convicted murderer petitions for clemency and every four years she and her family relive the tragedy while trying to keep the man behind bars, according to the article.

Patterson said 522 of more than 13,900 state inmates are currently serving life sentences without the possibility of parole.